CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP QUESTIONS APPLICATIONS TO SEIZE TWO HOMES

Two recent instances of authorities trying to seize properties even
though the owners have not been convicted of anything are highlighting
problems with civil forfeiture legislation, says the BC Civil
Liberties Association.

One case involves a $3-million West Vancouver home owned by a woman
charged with -- but not convicted of -- human trafficking.

The other involves the home of a Vancouver Island man who was
acquitted of growing marijuana because police violated his
constitutional rights.

Civil liberties association policy director Micheal Vonn said the
forfeiture applications appear to go beyond the intention of civil
forfeiture legislation.

When the B. C. government introduced the legislation in 2006, the
intent was to go after the assets of gangsters and criminals, Vonn
said.

She pointed out the Crown can apply in the criminal courts for
forfeiture of a home once a person is convicted, but said the province
is trying to seize homes before a conviction, or even when a person is
acquitted.

Applications for forfeiture are made in civil court before a B. C.
Supreme Court judge.

The civil forfeiture proceeding requires a lower standard of proof --
on the balance of probabilities -- rather than the criminal standard of
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Vonn said the BCCLA has received complaints from people facing civil
forfeiture proceedings, including a person who had his vehicle seized
for impaired driving.

In the West Vancouver case, the director of civil forfeiture filed an
application to seize the home of Mumtaz Ladha, allegedly because it
was used as an " instrument of unlawful activity."

Vonn said the application raises questions about whether the seizure
is proportionate to the alleged crime and its relationship to the
house, especially since the homeowner has been charged but not convicted.

" It really highlights the unfairness of the end-run around the
criminal process," Vonn said.

According to the notice of claim that is part of the application to
seize the Ladha family home at 1455 Bramwell Rd. in West Vancouver,
Ladha originally hired the victim of the alleged trafficking to work
as a " servant" at her family home and hair salon in Tanzania.

In early 2008, she allegedly promised the woman a job at a salon in
Vancouver for $200 a month. But when the woman arrived in August of
that year, she was made to work 18 to 22 hours per day cooking,
cleaning, landscaping, washing vehicles, providing daily massages and
washing undergarments by hand, police said. The civil claim says she
was never paid for her services and her passport was taken.

In the Vancouver Island case, Christopher Shoquist still faces having
his home seized under the Civil Forfeiture Act even though he was
acquitted of growing marijuana. The judge found the police search
warrant used to seize 396 pot plants was based on wrong
information.

The RCMP obtained a search warrant to search Shoquist's rural property
at 1051 Koskimo Rd., Qualicum Beach.

Officers stood behind what they believed was a neighbour's fence to
observe an outbuilding that was suspected to contain a growing operation.

Police later learned, after the search warrant was executed, that they
were on Shoquist's property.

A judge threw out the search warrant last year after finding police
violated Shoquist's constitutional rights, then acquitted Shoquist.

Shoquist applied to have the forfeiture application stayed, arguing it
was an abuse of process.

In a ruling released this week, B. C. Supreme Court Justice Dean
Wilson dismissed Shoquist's application, finding that while the police
made a mistake, they did not act in bad faith. This means the matter
will proceed to a hearing where a judge must determine whether the
house should be forfeited.

Vonn also questioned whether all the funds from the civil forfeiture
office are going to fund crime prevention programs and compensate
crime victims.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor-General said the civil
forfeiture program has resulted in about $20 million in proceeds,
including a record $5.3 million last year.

The funds go into a special account used to fund the civil forfeiture
office.

The ministry said almost $2.4 million has been used to compensate
victims and fund crime prevention and remediation programs in local
communities, including $250,000 this year to help fund the
government's " domestic violence plan."

Last year, about $90,000 was used to compensate 37 victims of stock
fraud and about $225,000 was used in 2008-09 to fund community-based
organizations to assist crime victims.

The total operating cost for the office for 2009-10 was $2.3 million
and $2.5 million for 2010-11.